AN outbreak of squirrelpox, which is threatening the red squirrel population in Scotland, has hit an estate in Dumfries and Galloway, it emerged yesterday.

Tests carried out on grey squirrels in the past week have revealed that the squirrelpox virus, a disease deadly to red squirrels but harmless to greys, has been found on the Duke of Buccleuch's Queensberry Estate north of Dumfries.

The European Squirrel Initiative, a group of concerned conservationists and foresters, say that the discovery is significant because the infected greys were found in a red squirrel stronghold.

The first reported case in Scotland of a red squirrel infected with squirrelpox was just over a year ago at Lockerbie.

Queensberry Estate is more than 20 miles from Lockerbie and the discovery of infected greys is being seen by ESI as a "major blow" to red squirrel conservation in Scotland.

It has called for urgent action to prevent the apparent spread of squirrelpox.

"This is worrying news," said Miles Barne, chairman of the ESI. "It is vital that squirrel control efforts are focused in this area. Squirrelpox infected greys can speed up the decline of red squirrels by up to 20 times".

Mark Coombs, estate manager at Drumlanrig which is on the Queensberry Estate, said: "This news is absolutely devastating. Our red population has been safe so far. Our estate gamekeepers have been controlling the grey squirrels with a robust policy of eradication to try save this iconic native species from extinction in the wild."